Originally Posted by Howard Wilcox
But you don't get extra kudos for a big squat either, yet that is nearly always in there??
So, I would assume that pressing strength is rarely the weak link (pardon the pun) whereas squat, maybe?
Arden, your routine seems more like what I would expect and because of that is why I asked the question.
As an aside, I've read several of your posts about your daughters lifting. I love it and hope my girls move in that direction as they get older too (8, 7, 5). In some ways I fear they day they ask for a Werksan bar...but in reality you wouldn't be able to remove the smile from my face in such a situation.
the difference is that leg strength in the pull and the recovery from the squat position in both the snatch and the clean is naturally dependent upon one's leg strength, as acquired via back and front squatting.
The jerk, despite its outward appearances, is NOT a quick press. Watching most top-level lifters, the initial leg drive in the jerk (out of the dip) usually takes the bar to approximately the top of the lifter's head. The rest of the lockout is accomplished not by pushing the bar UP, but by aggressively splitting the legs (or dropping into a quarter or full squat, depending upon your style of jerk). In both cases, the lifter is pushing him/herself DOWN under the bar, UNSUPPORTED by the floor, which renders the effects of pressing relatively moot. Like I said, pressing can be very useful for increasing the strength and stability of the shoulder joint, but it is not productive to conceptualize the press as being an integral part of the jerk, which is primarily a product of leg drive and fast, precise movement under the bar.